Orzo pasta salad with lemon mushrooms

Serve it hot or cold, this orzo pasta salad with lemon, garlic and thyme mushrooms is a big hit. Simple, delicious flavours and a recipe that takes just 15 mins & 9 ingredients. Think about the basic salmoriglio sauce and then elevate it to this brilliant dish with the addition of mushrooms and thyme.

The light seasoning with garlic, thyme, lemon, parsley, salt, and pepper is just perfect. I like the garlic-y taste so I chop them very fine but if you want to tone down the garlic a bit, just add them whole. I also love the textures of this dish — very smooth, both the orzo and the mushrooms. With each bite, I was literally not chewing it immediately, but savouring it. So smooth and so delicious.

Orzo pasta (or rice pasta as I sometimes call it!) is great for pasta dishes without a sauce. It is small and so doesn’t really occupy the bulk of the dish and because it is small each bite has enough of both orzo and vegetables.

Mushrooms were an acquired taste for me. It took my dad to cook many many dishes, multiple number of times till I started eating mushrooms. For me, the set combination was always mushrooms and garlic. With a little seasoning, mushroom and garlic made for a quick and delicious mushroom sauté. And when I added lemon juice to it! a-maaazzzing! Before I started, I wasn’t too sure how mushrooms will taste with lemon juice but I had to try. The recipe started as an experiment and now proudly sits amongst my easy and quick pasta dinner recipes.

Did you know:

Mushrooms belong to neither plant kingdom nor animal kingdom. They have their own mushroom kingdom! They are really special with great health benefits.

Health benefits of Mushrooms

One of few plant-based sources of Vitamin-D. Super low in calories (1 cup mushroom has 10 calories!), fat-free, cholesterol-free and rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals; it definitely is time to make room for some mushrooms in your diet!

If you like this recipe, please take a moment to rate it below and/or leave your thoughts at the end. It really encourages me to keep exploring, learning and improving.

Simple, delicious orzo pasta salad with lemon, garlic and thyme mushrooms. 9 ingredients and 15 mins only. Basic salmoriglio is elevated to this brilliant dish with the addition of mushrooms and thyme. Serve hot or cold. It tastes great either ways, always.

Course:
Salad

Cuisine:
Continental

Serves: 2

Calories: 147kcal

Ingredients

1tbspolive oil

½cuporzo pasta

1cupchestnut mushroomsthinly sliced

Saltto taste

4clovesgarlicsmall; smashed, peeled and chopped

1lemonzest and juice

4sprigsfresh thymeleaves stripped off

1bunch fresh parsleychopped

freshly ground black pepperto taste

Instructions

Bring 4 cups water to boil

Add 1 tsp olive oil and salt to the water. Throw in the orzo pasta to cook until al dente. Takes about 8-10 mins.

On the side, heat olive oil in a flat pan, on medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute.

Add the sliced mushroom, sprinkle some salt and sauté till the mushrooms start to sweat. About 5 mins.